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"Sexual assault on university campuses is a real problem, and there’s been a lot of controversy over whether universities are fully quantifying the assaults that occur. A new study by a professor of law at the University of Kansas isn’t likely to restore confidence in university administration on that front.

"A new study reveals that sexual assaults reported by colleges and universities tend to increase while under review, but as soon as the U.S. Department of Education finishes their investigations, the reports of sexual assault in annual crime statistics tend to drop sharply to pre-audit levels. This trend was specific to sexual assault cases and not for other types of serious crimes on campus."

"There’s new evidence to suggest that college administrations are actively—and artificially—keeping campus rape numbers low. A study from the University of Kansas, published recently in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, found that when post-secondary schools are being audited for Clery Act violations—i.e. failure to report to the federal government the number of sexual assaults taking place on campus—the number of rape reports rose by 44 percent from pre-audit numbers."

"CBC News has released the results of an investigation that reveals 727 sexual assaults were reported to 87 Canadian universities and colleges over the past five years. Trent University, with campuses in Peterborough and Oshawa, reported a total of 12 sexual assaults between 2009 and 2013, ranking 11th on the list when adjusted for student population.

"Mr. Yung analyzed the numbers of on-campus sexual assaults reported by 31 large colleges and universities (each with more than 10,000 students) during U.S. Department of Education audits conducted from 2001 to 2012. While the universities were being scrutinized, assault reports jumped by an average of 44 percent. But once the audits were over, the numbers fell back to pre-audit levels. That was true even when universities were fined for noncompliance.​"

"Sexual assaults, a serious problem at American universities for decades, are drastically underreported, even compared with sexual assaults among the general population. Worse, a new study shows, periodic government audits aren't doing much, if anything, to improve the situation.
. . .

"Same-sex couples in Alabama were flocking to the state’s courthouses, where some were able to apply for marriage licenses while others were turned away by probate judges refusing to follow a higher court’s ruling to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage.

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Richard Levy, a constitutional law professor at the University of Kansas, told The Guardian that it will likely be some time before all probate judges have to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

"The school of law at the University of South Carolina is hosting a symposium on the issue of corporate social responsibility in developing countries.

...

The final panel features University of Kansas Law Professor Virginia Harper Ho, who has written on shareholder activism, corporate governance, Chinese labor law reform and corporate social responsibility."

"Universities and colleges undercount sexual assaults on campus, a new study concluded this week.

The researcher examined the numbers universities reported before, during, and after federal audits of their compliance with the Clery Act, a law that requires universities to make public the number of sexual assaults reported on campus.

While under federal examination, schools reported 44% higher assault numbers than they did in previous years. Once federal scrutiny was lifted, universities’ sexual assault figures dropped back to pre-audit levels.

"The exact size of the campus sexual assault problem remains unclear. The commonly cited statistic that one in five women who attend college is assaulted before she graduates — repeated by the White House — comes from a flawed 2007 study based on undergraduates at just two unnamed public universities. That figure often shocks, yet there is no reliable alternative estimate. Under the federal Clery Act universities are required to publish data on campus crime, but activists have long suspected that administrators underreport sex crimes.